Staying resilient and continuing operations is always a priority for organisations but it took on far greater urgency when the pandemic hit. Governments and enterprises were under a lot of pressure to keep citizens safe, businesses running and nations and economies afloat.
As the world recovers from the pandemic, mere continuity and survival are not enough. Organisations must adapt to the changing dynamics, constantly innovate and be hyper-vigilant to remain relevant and thrive in the new normal.
Financial organisations currently struggle to cope with changing client demands, the need to have a far greater online presence and provide more comprehensive digital offerings. Adjusting requires new knowledge and deep dialogue. Keeping this in mind OpenGov Asia organised an OpenGovLive! Virtual Breakfast Insight on 18 November 2020 to discuss the need to embrace disruption and innovation for the financial sector with delegates from Malaysia and Singapore.
Essential for financial institutions to adopt technology against the historical convention
Kicking off the session, Mohit Sagar, Group Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, OpenGov Asia, opened the session after a quick round of introductions in the virtual space.
Mohit opined that the convenience and flexibility of digital banking and commerce are making our currency increasingly digital. This has made it essential for banks to adopt technology and go digital, to a large extent, against historical convention and experiential wisdom.
Digital banking has exposed customers to the convenience of online transaction, making e-commerce a torchbearer in the online space. That being the case, he emphasized the importance of using technology and the need to innovate to stay relevant in the current environment.
In the same vein, he advised delegates to not try and do everything in one big step; rather delegates should partner with champions who will help them accelerate their innovation journey and help them stay relevant.
OneConnect’s Solutions can assist financial institutions to transform digitally
After Mohit’s opening, Yao Jing, Head of Singapore and Malaysia, OneConnect Financial Technology shared his insights.
Yao began by sharing the inception of OneConnect Financial Technology in China and how they are exploring growth opportunities in other parts of South East Asia. OneConnect’s goal is to support small banks and financial institutions in building digital ecosystems and banking platforms to help them stay ahead of the curve in today’s digital world.
He briefly spoke about some of the digital solutions offered by OneConnect:
- Digital Identity Verification
- Smart Landing Platform
- Digital Bank-in-a-Box Solution
- Insurtech Solutions
Wrapping up his talk, Yao provided an overview of OneConnect’s workings and introduced Vijay Manoharan, Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Bank Philippines Inc – a pioneer and expert in fintech and digital banking – to share his story with the delegates
The need to democratize banking and promote financial inclusion in the Philippines
Vijay began by sharing that their primary goal of entering the Philippines was disrupting the banking landscape and promoting financial inclusion. The Philippines is in a very nascent banking stage with only 35-40% of the bankable population having bank accounts.
CIMB wanted to create value by addressing the real pain points of the customers. Keeping that in focus, they came up with a go-to-market strategy of removing the barriers to banking and incentivising opening bank accounts with higher interest rates.
Vijay gave an overview CIMB and why it perceives itself as platform bank – not just a digital bank. He explained that they have the capability of allowing outside partners to extend CIMB services on their platform. This allows CIMB to reach a wider audience, integrate better with customers and partners and have effective collaboration.
He spoke of the partnership they have with the biggest telecom and e-wallet in the country, They have become the first bank in the region to tie up with a fintech and enabled the end-to-end opening of a bank account on the partner’s platform.
Further proof of the success of their strategy is in the overwhelming recognition his team has received over the last 22 months.
Vijay concluded his presentation by listing some of the benefits of operating as a platform bank for both their partners and themselves. They include seamless digital experience, system readiness and agility, risk and credit expertise, fast and aggressive culture and partnership model and adding value.
After the informative presentations, it was time to engage delegates in a time of discussion through the polling session.
On the first question on the biggest benefit of using AI/Technology in the financial services industry, a majority of the delegates seemed divided between better risk control (26%) and new ways of credit assessment (26%).
A senior executive from China Construction Bank reflected that processing data is an organisation’s biggest asset in transformation and innovation. Technology, he felt, would support fintech initiatives but data will be the overarching driver for change.
On the second question about the most competitive advantage of FinTech/TechFin, close to half of the audience voted for innovation/willingness to take risks (47%).
A delegate from a banking organisation in Malaysia reflected that in a conventional banking setup, the ability to take risk is subdued. Smaller fintech setups have the liberty to be innovative and use different kinds of technology from opensource and cloud.
On the final question regarding the biggest competitive advantage of traditional financial institutions, a third voted for brand value (36%).
Reflecting on this, a participant felt that new upcoming FinTech companies are catching up with big organisations on a lot of fronts like management, people and culture but they struggle when it comes to regulatory support.
After the completion of the discussions, George Lee, Strategy and Business Development Director, OneConnect Financial Technology addressed the audience with closing remarks.
He shared that Fintech setups today are getting as big as the banks they are competing with. They have a mature workforce and enough resources, along with the ability to take risks and have flexibility.
He encouraged the delegates to use technology to serve their customers better and to stay relevant in this increasingly digital economy.
George urged the delegates to initiate conversations with the OneConnect team who are always ready to support them on their digital transformation journey.
